Sponsored Post – From Ecology Action of Texas
Ecology Action of Texas in a strategic partnership with Myco Alliance LLC has received a $46,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the Montopolis Wetland and Creek Rehab Project. Ecology Action, a nonprofit that for nearly 50 years has worked to divert landfill waste, runs Circle Acres Nature Preserve (Circle Acres), a capped landfill that is now 10 acres of restored wetlands, forest, and grassland within the southeast Austin neighborhood of Montopolis.
Myco Alliance LLC, a biotechnology research company housed at Circle Acres, is pioneering the use of mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus, for removing environmental contaminants from soil and water.
Ecology Action and Myco Alliance will use the grant to monitor water and soil quality of the proximate Country Club Creek East, restore native plants to the creek ecology, and build a research station where scientific experiments using mycelium can be carried out. Other partner non-profits, such as Austin Youth River Watch, Keep Austin Beautiful, and Austin Parks Foundation will play a key role in supporting the project.
“We look forward to conducting cutting-edge research, which will be a community resource and will help us provide innovative services to existing and future industries,” said Myco Alliance owner Daniel Reyes. The grant will also fund educational outreach for area school groups and the community.
“The National Fish and Wildlife grant will help us educate Austin on the environmental problems of landfills and how to remediate them,” said Interim Executive Director Cory Skuldt. “Our aim is a healthier ecology for Montopolis residents, and a restored habitat for native plants and wildlife.”
“By educating the community about the benefits of fungi, we can build scientific knowledge and skills for a new generation of environmentalists,” said Reyes. “This grant and our partnership with Ecology Action will drive innovations in land remediation and establish Circle Acres as Austin’s leading environmental education center.”
This marks the third grant Ecology Action has received this year, but its first major grant to do work in watershed remediation.
To volunteer with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant project, you can visit ecology-action.org or mycoalliance.com.
About Ecology Action of Texas
Originally founded in Austin in 1969 after the first Earth Day, Ecology Action provided recycling infrastructure in downtown Austin until 2015. The group has evolved its mission to recycle contaminated land into a community resource.
About Myco Alliance
Myco Alliance was founded in 2015 by UT-Austin alumni Daniel Reyes who learned about the benefits of fungi as a tool for remediation during his experience as a hydrogeologist working in the oil and gas industry.
